Kristallisering as tegniek en konstruksiemiddel in Louis Couperus se Eline Vere en Fidessa met verwysing na Iskander

Abstract

Louis Couperus is rightly regarded as one of the master narrators in Dutch literature, This becomes evident amongst other things through his handling of the language; this has a bearing on the so-called crystallising's, The term crystallising refers to the clear, firm figurative moulding of, for example, the thoughts of personae, landscapes , features of personae, Three works of Couperus, different in nature, were c hosen for the purpose of the study: Eline Vera (a 1 Dutch 1 novel ), Fidessa (a fairy-tale) and Iskandar (a biographical novel ) , These works are representative of the two 'tendencies' in his work, namely the realistic and the fantastic, Different techniques are used in the creation of the crystallising's: detailed description, phonic manifestations, other linguistic manifestation ns, punctuation and crystal lising through the interpretation of the reader. Seen in its totality, the procédé pattern through which the crystallising's take shape, forms a regularity applicable to Eline Vera, Fidessa as well as Iskandar. Each of these crystallising techniques has a specific function, but generally speaking the crystallising's serve to intensify the reader's experience of the chain of events in the novel. Since crystallising is connected with the sensory experience of the reader during the reading act, one can speak of co-experiencing. The similarities in the nature of the crystallising's are greater than the differences because the same techniques are used in the realization of the crystallising's, One of the biggest differences in crystallising lies in the nature of fate: it is negative in both Eline Vera and Iskandar, whilst positive in Fides Crystallising is a characteristic of the drama which is to a great extent a visual genre, Consequently it can be presumed that in Couperus 1 work there will be strong dramatic elements, In order to prove this, a number of literary theoretical principles are discussed in Chapter Four. Couperus 1 work in general, and the selected works in particular, show his flair for the dramatic. An extensive oeuvre like that of Couperus would naturally be of an uneven nature, This study which attempted to elucidate a small part of his oeuvre, proves that Couperus truly is "le prince des romanciers".